2019 GENDER PAY GAP REPORT

Since 5 April 2017 UK companies employing more than 250 employees are required to publish their gender pay gap. Gender pay shows the difference in average pay between all men and women in an organisation.

Our results

This year our mean (average) gender pay gap is 6.2% and our median (middle) gender pay gap is 4.3%. This is a reduction on last year and it is below the figure for many other organisations in the public sector.

We understand that achieving gender pay equality is an ongoing commitment.

We believe in equal opportunities for everyone regardless of gender and recognise that any gender pay gap requires improvement. In our case we need to achieve a better balance between women and men in the Commission’s lower pay quartile.

Pay & Bonus Gap

| Year | Gender Pay Gap | 2019 | 2018 | |------|----------------|------|------| | Mean | is 6.2% | 6.2% | 9.3% | | Median| is 4.3% | 4.3% | 7.8% | | Mean Bonus| is 3.3% | 3.3% | N/A (see below) | | Median Bonus| is 0.0% | 0.0% | N/A (see below) |

It is worth noting that the bonus payment for this reporting year was based on a fixed amount for all employees (pro-rata for those on part-time hours):

- A mean annual male bonus of £444.84
- A mean annual female bonus of £430.32
- Or an absolute difference of £14.52

We did not report on bonus payments last year, due to the payment date falling outside of the reporting period, so there are no comparators for these 2019 mean male hourly rate of £20.99 2018 mean male hourly rate of £20.02 2019 mean female hourly rate of £19.69 2018 mean female hourly rate of £18.15

There is a lesser gap in our upper quartile reporting due to an increase in females at a senior level. However, looking at the actual pay quartiles it is evident that there is ongoing work to do to address the gap in the lower quartile.

Read last year's gender pay gap report.

What's next?

We are working towards closing the gender pay gap in the organisation.

We'll develop a Reward Strategy, so that we can continue to develop our pay and reward framework, to ensure our offer is fair, understood and the best we can achieve.

Our aspiration is to build a diverse and gender balanced workforce ensuring that our colleagues can be their best selves at work. As an organisation we are committed to addressing gender representation and supporting women in the workplace.

Neil McArthur CEO

Vic Beaumont Chief People Officer